HIDEKO S. KUWAHARA
(1913-2011)
Mrs. Hideko S. Kuwahara, age 97, formerly of Lahaina, passed away on February 8, 2011, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. For many years between 1936 and 1968 she taught at Kamehameha III School and Honokohua School and was active in the Delta Kappa Gamma teachers' organization.
Born on April 3, 1913, in Lahaina to Okuju and Wasa Kamimoto Sasaki, Mrs. Kuwahara graduated from Lahainaluna High School and the University of Hawaii. A sociology major in college, she published a journal article on the immigrant experience of a man from the Azores and acted in the Japanese Students Association Theatrical Guild. In 1935-36 she taught in Kapoho on the Big Island before marrying Dr. Toshio Kuwahara, a dentist, in 1937. Except for 1954-55 spent in Whittier, California, the Kuwaharas lived in Lahaina until 1969 when they moved to Santa Cruz, California, and then to Kirkland, Washington, before settling in White Salmon, Washington. Later they lived in Hood River, Oregon, where Dr. Kuwahara died in 1996. In May 2001 Mrs. Kuwahara moved to New Mexico.
Mrs. Kuwahara is survived by her elder sister, Sakae Sasaki Kawakami of Honolulu, and her children: Dr. Steven and Rene Miyajima Kuwahara of Sunnyvale, California; Professor James and Avis Kuwahara Payne of Las Cruces, New Mexico; and David and Lynda Maricle Kuwahara of Idaho City, Idaho. Other survivors include her grandchildren: Daniel and Gretchen Breunsbach Kuwahara of Corvallis, Oregon; Dr. Sara Kuwahara of Tucson, Arizona; and Marina Payne of Winston, Oregon; and her great-grandchildren: Calvin and Natalie Kuwahara of Corvallis, Oregon.
The family invite friends to the memorial service for Dr. and Mrs. Kuwahara at 4 p.m., Saturday, August 27, 2011, at the Lahaina Hongwanji Temple and ask that anyone wishing to make a monetary contribution send it to a favorite charity.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased
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